Wha? "Most barley growers and maltsters cater to big brewers — Anheuser-Busch InBev, MillerCoors — that don’t often celebrate the malting process (perhaps, in part, because of the stigma attached to high-alcohol malt liquors)."
"Mr. Stanley hopes the malt revival can stem the tide of hop-heavy pale ales, enabling craft brewers to focus on malt’s sweet, rich character and, in turn, open up a new kind of terroir for American craft brewers to explore." Sounds good. Also a nice shout out to Anson Mills here in SC!
I brewed an altbier using Valley Malt's Munich malt as the base malt, and it came out phenomenal. I would love to try some more of their malts.
It's great that small maltsters are starting up. But it won't be much use for brewers wanting to make local beers unless they can supply a decent amount of malt. The amount of they are producing is tiny. Four tons a week is enough to brew around 100 Imperial barrels of mid-strength beer (5-6% ABV).
Good read. Interesting to see how this "small town" operation works. I would love to see brewers explore malts more. Love me some malts
Yea, it's funny. The descriptions in the article reminded me of the early microbrewers in the States back in the late 80s-early 90s. People making do with whatever equipment they have on hand. Hope the movement grows the way the craft beer movement has...unless they start grafting mango tree buds onto barley that is.
Nice artilcle. I wish sometimes I lived in a place with open spaces to try and do something with the earth and help start a movement. The So. Cal concrete jungle is sadly home. Cheers!
They have an enticing Malt of the Month Club...my LHBS is a delivery spot but I just haven't pulled the trigger yet.
